Bodkin / Patterns

Colby's Corona Crab

Crab · Permit · Redfish · Bonefish · Intermediate · 1 version

Reference Recipe

  • Hook Stainless saltwater hook, 2-4
  • Thread Tan 210 denier

Materials

  • Eyes Black dumbbell (one pair)
  • Claws Tan craft fur / rabbit (two small clumps)
  • Legs Barred tan/orange rubber legs (3 pairs)
  • Body Tan EP fibers / craft fur, spun (as needed)
  • Weed guard Hard mono (double loop)

How to tie it

  1. Mount the hook and start thread mid-shank. Figure-8 the dumbbell eyes on top near the bend so the fly rides hook-point-up when weighted.
  2. At the rear, tie in two small splayed clumps of tan craft fur as claws, one shank length long, with a few strands of flash between.
  3. Add three pairs of barred rubber legs splayed to the sides across the middle of the shank.
  4. Spin or stack tan EP fiber/craft fur around the shank and pack it tight to build a flat oval carapace, working forward to the eyes.
  5. Trim the body top and bottom into a flat crab-shell shape, leaving it wide and low-profile.
  6. Tie in a doubled hard-mono weed guard at the eye, then build a neat head and whip finish. Cast ahead of cruising redfish and permit and let it drop to the bottom, then give short strips to hop it like a fleeing crab.

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